Mortal Kombat Rise of the Dark One
by CLTWRIR7
Summary: A new alternate story to the universe of Mortal Kombat, in which a new and dark warrior has risen from the shadows, and is out for blood and power. He is willing to kill or join anyone who can boost his power. Read chapter by chapter of this intricate story as across the realms a huge cast of the characters of Mortal Kombat interact in new and various ways. (Reviews Welcome)
1. Prologue

Mortal Kombat

Rise of the Dark one

Prolouge: The Wedding

The sound of a roaring engine resounded through the desert which herald the approach of a silver 2014 Ferrari that hurtled down the empty asphalt road. Several rocks passed by as the vehicle hit a hundred and fifty, still gaining speed and creating a dust cloud behind it while the storm clouds gathered around the horizon line. The radio in the car blared to life and a heavy low voice shouted from the speakers, "Kabal, where the hell are you? The wedding is in ten minutes!" Kabal laughed at this and pressed the talk button,

"I'm on my way Jax, I may be a little late though." The driver let go of the button, a small smirk spread across his face while waiting for a response from his friend.

"Well hurry up and get down here, Sonya is getting pissed and you know how that ends up!"

"Well I am less than ten minutes away, but I can always play dirty and speed up and be there in three." Jax laughed over the radio and agreed to this plan, "Good, I will be there, AH!" Jax could hear the audible shout over the radio but couldn't see what was happening in the vehicle, but Kabal could see, hear and feel everything that was happening. An arrow had flown cleanly through the window shield, piercing through the knuckle of Kabal's left hand that held onto the steering wheel, and the shaft and tip sunk through his arm and the tip pinned his elbow into the chair. His hand was pulled off the wheel, and the sudden lack of balance caused his right hand to swerve and the car flew off the road onto the desert sand. Another arrow flew through the passenger window, shattering the glass and piercing through Kabal's knees, pinning them together, and he let out another cry of pain. Within the last ten seconds all this happened Jax's voice continuously shouted from the speaker calling for Kabal and as he attempted to reach out with his right hand toward the button, the sound of steel being cut in one movement followed by the door being pulled off the car surprised him. Two hands reached through the gaping hole in the car and grabbed onto Kabal's arm, pulling him from the seat onto the scorching desert sand.

"Kabal I'll be there in five, stay alive!" Shouted Jax from the speaker. But Kabal could only look up as he was dragged along by his legs, making a trail through the sand along with a smaller trail of blood, he couldn't clearly see the attacker however, a long black cloak covered most of his back, the only indication of who this man was is the fingerless gloves that showed the pale white skin, and the hair that was spiked up like a porcupine and was the same shade of black as the cloak except the tips were dark red like flecks of blood. The helpless victim began to struggle, waddling back and forth in the sand, but the stranger didn't seem to like that, and he showed it by pulling out a long crooked dagger that seemed to hurt just by looking at it, many barbs jutting off the edges and it then flew through the air piercing Kabal's right shoulder to the hilt piercing out the other side. Blackness surrounded his eyes and his mind left him, slacking into unconsciousness.

Jax and several other agents drove on the desert road toward the GPS location of Kabal's car, as they drove up to it a clear trail of blood led off and continued off for a long distance. As soon as the blue Hummer jeep pulled over to the side of the highway, Jax leapt out and ran toward the trail sprinting through the sand until he found Kabal. A large chasm was dug into the earth, five foot by seven foot by seven foot, and at the bottom was Kabal, burnt, and surrounded by glass as if the sand was heated with an extreme flame.

"Sergeant Marks, get Kabal out of there, Kim call paramedics while I alert Sonya." Both officers hurried to do their designated job while Jax pulled out the small phone and dialed Sonya's number, beeping commenced which quickly was replaced with the frantic voice of Ms. Blade, soon to be Mrs. Cage.

"Jax what is going on?" She didn't give him much time to answer as she began coming up with several scenarios to ask him about. "Did he get in a wreck? Did he get stuck in a ditch... Or a tree?"

"I don't know what happened Sonya, but he's been injured very badly and the paramedics are on the way to get him from me, he has third degree burns on most of his body, entry wounds in his shoulder, left hand, and right knee, exit wounds in the left elbow, shoulder blade, and left knee. Shrapnel damage probably from the broken glass from the car, and damaged trachea." An audible gasp came from the other side of the phone, and a rustling sound as the phone changed hands.

"It's Kurtis, Sonya is, well I don't think I need to explain it, do you think you can get him to the hospital and fix him up." But Jax didn't want to respond, he kept silent for almost a minute.

"He is beat up pretty badly," over the phone Stryker could hear the sound of the ambulance sirens, "I don't think a hospital can help." Kurtis groaned from the other side of the line, his exasperation clear even through the sound of the sirens.

"Tell the ambulance to take him to the hospital in Roswell, I will call ahead, there may be a chance we can save him but it will come at a price." As if he knew what Jax would say next he went ahead and spoke again. "CY-B corporate hospital, they might be..." An audible explosion came from the phone and the signal died.

Sonya and Johnny stood at the sound of the bombing, and the heavy wooden doors of the church flew into the stone building, slamming into several of the people sitting or standing in the benches. From the doorway smoke poured forth and a silhouette stood in the door way, a glinting red light shining through the mist. Several other silhouette joined that of the first one, but the way they moved was a little jerky and the shadow looked more mechanical then the smooth round shape of a human.

"Sorry about the door sweetheart, I just thought I would drop by." The voice was rough with a heavy Australian accent, and as if to emphasize the pun, the shapes behind the man leapt into the air and crashed through the stone ceiling, again dropping onto four or five people in the audience. But they weren't men, they were cybers, their heavily armored metallic glinted from the sunlight that fell from the holes in the ceiling, all of them were grey painted with black wiring sprouting from their head to form a sort of ponytail.

"Kano..." Sonya's tongue burned in her mouth as the name slipped out of her mouth. This man had hurt her several times since she had met him, her partner Jax taught him a lesson at one point which ended with him having his right eye beat out of him.

"Sonya, I had no idea this was your wedding? Oh wait yes I did." The wretched man began to laugh, the sound of pistons and whirring gears was heard all around and the arms of the cybers produced barrels of some gun above the wrist. Instant reaction took over, Sonya, Stryker, and a few other agents pulled out their pistols and fired at the drones. Their chests, heads, and shoulders jerked as the bullets bounced and slammed into them, but it didn't slow them down, and the barrels of their guns began to smoke and burst as the drones fired their machine guns into the crowd around them. people fell, though the smarter agents dove behind the piano, the altar or an aisle without a drone in the way. The sound of more voices came from the doorway and when Sonya peered around from the side of the altar and saw ten other men joining Kano wearing black and red uniforms holding rifles and shotguns. A streak of lightning flew across the room striking a cyber in the chest, and everyone looked over toward Raiden. Everyone behind the altar except Jax, Stryker, Liu and Kung Lao looked over and then at Sonya.

"He's a thunder god, now shoot the damn robots!" More bullets fired through the air, and with a wicked laugh Kano threw his crooked dagger, and Sonya starred in horror as it struck the knee of Johnny, and everyone heard the cracking of bone and cartilage (not to mention a scream of pain) over the heavy gunfire. In the confusion of the firefight, Liu began to get distracted, his fist flying like peels of thunder as it struck the chest and head of the mercenary he was fighting, he tuned out the world as his anger grew. But he couldn't see as Kung Lao was overwhelmed by two drones, that dragged him around and stole him as they flew through the ceiling in a leap. Sonya fired five shots into the air where the machine men fled through the holes in the stone roof.

"Well I should say this wedding is sufficiently cracked, let's go gents." Said Kano, and taking the men he still had he left the chapel leaving everyone to deal with the death, blood, and decay that was filling the room around them. Sonya shouted orders at her friend Alice, who happened to be a paramedic, to work on Johnny, afterward she motioned for Stryker, Liu Kang, Kung Lao and Raiden to follow her as she made a swift stride to a separate room.

"What the hell just happened!" She shouted.

"How the hell am I suppose to know?" Yelled Stryker, everyone was beaded with sweat, and with splotches of blood streaking over a few people in a few places.

"It appears that your old friend Kano has grown an army of his own mercenaries, though I am unsure what the robots were." Said Raiden, his voice calm and unmoving as always.

"They appeared to be prototypes, well based on the jerky movements and lack of real armor or weaponry, did anyone else notice they didn't actually fight like the mercenaries they just used their guns?" Said Stryker, but it was no longer assured as his usual tone was, it was a nervous tone, almost fearful of the unknown assailants, something no one had heard from this man before.

"We need to go after Kano, he has Kung Lao and we need to save him." Liu Kang was getting emotional, something Raiden had struggled to show Liu wasn't the best choice.

"Peace Liu Kang, we will get Kung Lao back, I promise." He then looked over toward Sonya, "Where is Jax and Kabal, we need to get them back here so we can go after Kano and those robots, and we need to get Johnny to a hospital." Raiden stood and walked to Johnny's wounded form, "Johnny, I am going to take you to the hospital, it will make you sick but it should seal the wound." Raiden placed his hand onto the shoulder of his friend and a field of lightning surrounded the two and in a flash of light the two disappeared leaving a black stain on the stone.

"Liu Kang, you need to go, go to the nearest monastery, Raiden will likely meet you there. Sonya, you and I are going down to H.Q. we need to track down Kano." Stryker continued to shout orders. Another flash of light followed by a fall of lightning and Raiden stood there again, Johnny not with him.

"Johnny is now at home resting, everyone we need to be ready for another attack."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Jax looked on as Kabal lay silent in the hospital room, his body covered in bandages that was a sheet of paper compared to the burn marks on his body and his now brownish tinted skin. Jax shook his head as we wondered what had happened, he had no idea who could have done it, no normal man could shoot an arrow so precisely at a moving target that was traveling in the hundreds of miles an hour. His phone rang, buzzing in his pocket.

"Yes?"

"Major Briggs, we have analyzed the finger prints on the arrows." It was the voice of one of the evidence analyzers, he didn't know who but it didn't really matter he just needed to know who did this to Kabal. "We have a small issue, the prints don't show up on the database from us or from any of the other embassies."

"Damn." Jax cursed as he left the room, his left hand running across his head while he held the phone to his ear. "Anything else?"

"The tips of the arrow was a barbed broad head arrow made of a black metal, I am not sure what type though it has a similar molecular structure to steel."

"Any idea where it was made?" Jax's anger only grew, his fist slammed against the pale green hospital wall, a man came around the corner dressed in a long white lab coat and light blue cloth outfit heading in Jax's direction. "Never mind, if you get any more knowledge on the evidence or anything else on who did this keep notes, I have to go." He hung up as the man approached, clipboard in hand.

"Major Briggs, I have several bits of bad news about your friend, but I also have good news for you." Jax nodded his head to tell the man to continue. "His skin is burnt but that is the obvious part, his esophagus, lungs, and throat are burnt to the point where he can't breathe without aid, his elbows as well as several other bones are shattered beyond natural repair, and what's worse he is in a coma and will not wake up without serious help." Jax smashed his fist into the wall again, a clear dent was now visible leading to an apology as well as an offer to pay for it. "Never you mind, I will say that there is a way we can get him back to full capacity, which is what your commander called us about. We're taking him to the lab of the Cy-Tech part of the hospital and we are going to perform an emergency assimilation operation."

"Slow down doc, what exactly does that mean?" Jax wasn't the most technically savvy in the medical field.

"We are going to turn him into a cyborg, it's the only way we can get him completely functional again, otherwise he's going to be a vegetable for life." Another fist collided with the wall, this time driving all the way through it. This led to another apology from the heavily built officer and another offer to pay for the damages.

"Do what you can to keep him alive, I can't let another one of our partners die when there is a chance we can save him." He leaned against the wall letting out an exasperated sigh, he half expected a tear to fall from his eyes and onto the white tile floor. But it didn't, instead he sucked it up and stood resolute before the smaller doctor, "Just do what you can."

"Understood Major, I will call your superior when he is ready to leave the hospital." Jax shook his head, his expression was a brutal mixture of pain and understanding, but understanding of what is the question that passed through the doctors mind. Major Briggs turned to his friend and gave the injured man a heart filled salute before walking away, toward the elevators and out the doorway.

Sonya sat on her knees next to her bed were Johnny's passed out body lay, blood stained bandages covering his entire left leg. Her hand was wrapped around his elbow (though her fingers weren't close to touching) and tears began to fill her eyes once again. The front door banged with a resounding thud that repeated four or five times. Sonya wiped the tears out of her eyes and walked to the door, her black tank top had several damp spots around the front, which was evident to Stryker who happened to be the one on the other side of the door.

"We need to go, Kabal is in the hospital and we need to take Jax back to H.Q. so we can get the evidence of the attack completely looked over before we start looking for suspects and we need him to not be under so much stress." Sonya only nodded, but her head jerked around.

"Did you hear something Kurtis?" Both peered into the shadows in the back of the house.

"No, I didn't." He held out his large flash light and shined into the back of the house, but nothing caught his attention other than the light glinting back into his eyes from the mirror. "Let's go Sonya, Johnny will be ok." Both exited the room, leaving the place in darkness, and neither seemed to notice that the door didn't close. After a few minutes later a heavy black boot nudged open the ash door, and in the shadows a red light shined from the doorway, followed by the glint of steel, sharp, ragged, crooked steel.

"Well I guess the mice left one little mouse behind, and now the cat is gonna play." A heavily accented voice came from the darkness, until the lights flashed on and Kano stood in the center room of the home of Sonya Blade and Johnny Cage, a grin stretching across his face as he span the dagger around in between his fingers. He strutted through the house, like he was invincible here, and as he passed through the house he picked up random objects looking them over before throwing it through the room, usually it ended up crashing against the wall or floor. The floor creaked in the kitchen, but Kano didn't pay attention to that and continued to move about the house until he decided doing what he came here to do. His blade began to spin faster as he walked through the house into the bedroom, and he placed his hand on the switch before flipping it on. A dash of movement off to his right caught his eye, he turned to see it but saw nothing, another dash to his left, and sweat began to bead. The sound of rustling cloth behind him caused him to turn about flinging his knife into a towel that had fallen to the ground. Kano let out a sigh of relief, thinking he was just freaking out, and turned his attention back to his soon to be victim. Another flash of movement, this one heading right at him, and he turned to see a gloved pale fingered fist struck him in the nose, producing an audible crack followed by a flow of blood from his nostril. He gripped his bleeding nose only to have a heavy boot covered foot slam into his chest, launching him into the dresser nearby and shattering the wooden frame.

In a burst of red light Kano shot a laser from his eye, however the attacker was faster than his reaction and the heel of the boot came in contact with his chin. Bent sideways from the force of the impact the stranger lifted him up and he got his first sight of the attacker; the hair was jet black like spikes of pure darkness except the tips of maroon, the eyes of the man were a deep purple, but his face below the nose was covered by an overlapping covering that led to a sleeveless black overlapped robe with relatively long "coat tails" to the back of his knees. His pants were baggy and a dark brown hue which fed into the heavy black boots that came over the pants. He continued to attack Kano, his fists were swift and precise attacking each weak point with exact coordination as if it was exact calculation. In one last attempt to fight back Kano managed to kick the attacker away and he dived out of the way of the next kick reaching for the dagger that was stuck in the window blinds and into the wall.

It didn't work entirely as planned, and instead of pulling the dagger around and into whoever the hell this was he was pulled away from the wall and his own knife was thrown at him, stabbing into his ankle and pinning him into the ground.

"What the hell is wrong with you, who are you, you bloody," Before he could finish his sentence a heavy blow socked him in the jaw, and more pain shot through his body. The stranger said nothing, but pulled a pole about three feet long off of his belt and from it extended an axe blade of a black metal that seemed to blend with the leather strips that covered the handle of the axe.

"You have no honor you snake, sneaking into the home of a half dead man while his loved one is working to save her friends? That's not how a warrior works." The man then rose the axe blade to his shoulder and kicked the man in the face, the red eye of his cyborg plating cracked and dimmed to an empty grey color. Another kick, this one to the chest and more blood dripped from his mouth as the assailant who had foiled his murder stood over him. "Do you know what honor is anyway?" The man spoke with a hiss as if he was talking to a rodent. It was stern and angered, but Kano didn't know what the reason was for this man to stop him. The cloaked man crouched to the ground, his pale white arms resting on his knees, and he whispered into the ears of the angered black dragon leader. "You, are nothing, you are a worm writhing in the dirt. But a worm can do great things, but this particular worm," Here he pressed his finger into Kano's chest, "this worm right here, messed with the wrong snake, and the snake you messed with had friends who hired me to take care of you." Kano cursed and threatened the assassin over and over again, his tone filled with anger and humiliation, only to be ignored. The man turned and began to spin the axe handle in his hands, and in one swift and powerful motion the axe head sunk into the neck of Kano's body, leaving only the stump of the body. And after taking the body away, outside and into the lake outside, he took the head and placed it into an old Christmas box and put it on the table in the center of the house right in the view of the doorway.

"Liu Kang, watch your back, we will be traveling through the forests of the Lin Kuei, we must be cautious." Raiden walked with a resolute stride, Liu Kang a few feet behind as the two entered the lush green forests.

"Are you sure this is the best route to take Lord Raiden?"

"Yes, the cyborgs at the attack had the symbol of the Lin Kuei, and so I need to speak to the grand master to see if it was them." A rustling above the trees caused what seemed like thousands of green leaves to surround them, shielding much of their vision.

"And if it is the Lin Kuei and they were behind the attack they will try to kill us!" Liu Kang heard the rustling again, all around them and he held Raiden by his shoulder and motioned for him to hold still and listen. "Lord Raiden, do you hear that?"

"Yes Liu Kang I hear it, as I have for the last five minutes, they have been following us since we entered the forests."  
>"Well why didn't you tell me?" Liu placed himself in a fighting stance and faced away from Raiden into the field of falling leaves.<p>

"Because I didn't know whether or not they are hostile, and I know that you are prone to violence before being prone to saying hello." Raiden waved his hand and the leaves parted as a gust of wind blew away a pathway. Two men dropped from the tree line, one was dressed in a black sleeveless robe with a yellow outline along with baggy black pants and a yellow sash. His dark skin and black dreads contrasted with the light shining down from the forest canopy. The other was dressed similar but instead of yellow it was outlined in red and he had metal plates on his shoulders, and he was more oriental. Both had machine covered wrist bracers, and the red decorated one had two strange red canisters on his back.

"You, you are Raiden, and you are Liu Kang. What are you doing here in Lin Kuei territory?" The red man spoke with authority and prowess.

The throne room of Shao Kahn's temple was lit up with several torches surrounding the black and gold throne. The over muscled man dressed in an ornate sash around his waist and an x shaped leather strap across his chest that held two spiked pauldrons to his shoulders. A horned ronin helm adorned his head with a skull mask across his face, his hands rested on the arms of the throne as he looked forward at the heavy black wooden door decorated with the golden dragon symbol of the Mortal Kombat Tournament. The huge man slammed his heavy fist down on the arm of the chair, and rose up from the throne.

"Shang Tsung!" His voice was deep and booming and echoed all throughout the entire temple. The sound of footsteps followed, and an older man in an ornate red and black robe adorned in serpent designs.

"Yes Shao Kahn?" The voice was ancient and dry like a desert. Shao Kahn opened his fist and revealed that he held the broken eye of Kano.

"Someone has slain our friend Kano, and I would like to know who has done us this great service. I want you to find who did this and offer them an exclusive invitation directly from me to join me in my temple to speak to me about him working for me." He sat almost chuckling in his chair as he wondered who this man could be. "Also how is our newest "ally" coming along?"

"She is coming along very well, though she will require more substance and I need more... assistance." The long grey beard and wiry moustache waved in the slight breeze that came through the open rice paper doors on the sides of the building that opened up into the stormy night. "And I will find who this man is and will send Motaro and Sheeva after him as soon as I find out who this warrior is." Shao Kahn nodded his head in approval and waved off the sorcerer who proceeded to hurry out the door. Shang Tsung rushed down the stairs to his heinous meat pits and over to a large crescent shaped table with sticks of different wood rising from different holes with a steady burning ember on each of their tips. In the center of the crescent was a floating orange orb that had spiraling mist inside of its shell, and the ancient mage raised his hand to the orb and held out the broken red eye. A bolt of orange lightning snaked out of the orb and pulled the eye into the orb itself.

"Show me who killed this man." The desert cracked voice filled the air. The orange mist swirled faster and began to clear up, revealing the image of a ruined castle covered in green vines and surrounded by a lush green rainforest but there was no person in the image, which confused Shang Tsung as this had never happened before. "I guess the killer is here, but why does it not show him?" The old sorcerer stroked his beard as he pondered the reasons for this strange phenomenon. "Motaro! Sheeva! I have an assignment for you." The tapping of hooves on the cold stone floor and the heavy breathing of the two monstrous warriors reached the ears of the evil man moments later and as he turned he had to look up to see the eyes of the two creatures.

"Yes Shang Tsung, what is it you require?" Sheeva's voice was rough but was still clearly female.

"Yes, what does Shao Kahn require of us?" Motaro's voice was rough and sounded like it had a mix of growls inside there.

"There is a ruined castle called Red Raven Manor, somewhere in there is a man who Shao Kahn has particular interest in. I want you two to go and find him and bring him here. Do not kill him."

"Must I take him with me?" Said Sheeva already getting defensive in the standing of the two races. "I could find this man on my own."

"There are problems on Earthrealm that require us to go in pairs from now on, and I have decided you two will go and get this man." His voice grew with power like a peel of thunder. Motaro raised on his hind legs hand growled with fear as the power of the sorcerer was revealed. "You two will go to Earthrealm and find this warrior or I will rip the two of you apart and reattach your body parts to form a new monster that will listen to me!" The threat obviously worked as it filled the two with fear and they turned and solemnly left the meat pits, leaving the ancient man to himself.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Raiden and Liu Kang stood, both taking radically different stances, Liu looking aggressive and ready to fight, Raiden stood calm before the two Lin Kuei assassins. Both of them stood, their bodies stiff and ready to react in an instant to anything.

"Raiden, I asked you a question, I expect an answer." The red man rubbed the mechanical parts of his bracer as he waited for an answer.

"Apologies, but we do not know your names, and we do not simply give out our information to strangers." Raiden's voice was still calm and unfeeling. The man adorned in yellow smirked as if to compliment Raiden and his reasoning.

"Of course, I am Cyrax and this is Sektor." The dark skinned man spoke more genuinely compared to the other. Cyrax held out his hand to shake it and Raiden took it in his. As this exchange of "friendship" took place Liu Kang watched on, paying close attention to each of the men, taking in every detail. Sektor played with a small switch on his wrist gauntlet but nothing appeared to be happening so that was of little concern to him. On Cyrax's left gauntlet there was a thin wide opening, but there wasn't much that struck a nerve with Liu, but what did was a bullet wound opening in the leg of Sektor, the opening seemed like the gun was probably a light handgun... similar to the ones used by Sonya and her partners during the wedding shoot out.

"We were actually coming to find you Lin Kuei, we need to speak to your grandmaster about a few problems that involve your clan." Raiden answered truthfully but not fully and Liu took notice of this.

"We haven't sent anyone out lately, except for us being here in the forest, there is your answer." Sektor was trying to throw them off, and both knew it.

"Well then we need to tell your grandmaster that someone has framed your clan for an attack." Sektor winced in pain as he took a step back, Liu Kang had figured out that he obviously haven't been at the Lin Kuei temple, otherwise he probably would have gotten that wound healed. But there was something else catching his eye, strapped across the back Cyrax was a thin razor brimmed hat. Anger flared into his eyes, and flames burst into his hands. In a fluent motion he launched himself through the air, his leg outstretched toward Cyrax who had not expected it and was forced into a tree behind him. Sektor turned and put up his arm up which shot a jet of flame toward the shaolin monk, who blasted flames back causing both streams to hold in the air. The yellow assassin tackled Liu Kang to the earth, and the flames from Sektor's flamethrower burnt against the tree where they were. Seeing as there was no way around this Raiden launched a ball of electric force at Sektor which threw him through the air.

"Liu Kang, he is nearby I can sense him, quickly find him while Cyrax is still on the ground!" Raiden shouted at the warrior while he focused on blocking the attacks of the crimson robed assassin. Liu ran into the forest, not looking back as the gold adorned man pushed itself up off the tree that it had crashed into. A buzzing noise reached Liu's ears and a good sized buzz saw flew past his head, bursting through a tree to his right and half way into a second, causing an explosion of wood chips to fly through the air.

Hooves clacked on the rough stone floor, matching the soft padding of the two toed feet of a Shokan as Motaro and Sheeva walked through the dark castle's hallway. The squawk of a raven resounded through the deep stone building as the two monstrous fighters made their way through the enigmatic maze that made up the inside of Red Raven Manor. The sound of a gunshot followed the sound of the raven and a shout that was familiar to Motaro,

"Stryker is in this place, I know that voice anywhere," they began to hurry toward the sound of the blast and just in the distance they saw the light of day shining through an archway, and the silhouettes of two men were fighting in what looked like an open courtyard. As they rushed out of the archway they looked on at the scene before them: Stryker, a heavy built man crammed into a SWAT uniform with a set of desert eagles on his belt and a pair of batons strapped to his back, was moving with strength and power as he swung at his foe. But his enemy was difficult to make out, as most of his body was covered with a black cloak with a hood that covered his face, the only indication that there was anyone under the cloak was two bare pale white arms that were open from the fabric, fingerless gloves with small spiked knuckles on each hand. Though Stryker's blows were precise and executed with enormous power, the cloaked figure moved to fast, maneuvering around the fists like a dark phantom and dodging the strikes like a serpent. The pale man finally threw a blow of his own as he saw an opening under the arms, and a closed fist struck the left rib cage, a small amount of blood leaking from a small hole caused by the spiked gloves.

It was then that Motaro and Sheeva took notice that Stryker's uniform was littered with holes, blood stains surrounding the wounds, and a blue bruise covered the right side of his face.

"Motaro, now is your chance to get revenge on Stryker," Sheeva spoke with a smile on her face, even though she did not like or respect the Centaurs she knew that Motaro and Stryker had fought before and the centaur had been heavily wounded from the SWAT agent's guns, and she knew he wanted revenge. "Go and get him." Motaro's rage blazed within him and with a snort he charged into the courtyard. Stryker turned in time to see the two curved horns plunge into his chest and let out a gasp of air. The Centaur kept running until he struck one of the stone walls surrounding the open area and pressed the horns deeper into him, splattering blood across the bricks. The Shokan laughed as she watched her rival spear the human against the side of the courtyard, but her laughter stopped as she turned as noticed the cloaked figure had disappeared. She walked out into the center of the open area, ignoring Motaro's continued beating of the near dead Stryker, and she looked around at the roof tops searching for the mysterious pale warrior.

"What are you here for strangers?" The voice was calm and seemed to come from every one of the seven archways that led away from the courtyard. The voice even stopped Motaro from his vengeful wrath and he looked away from the man who lay bleeding and desecrated before him.

"We have come to deliver a message to the one who slayed Kano." The sound of another raven gave both of them a start and they saw the black bird take off from one wall and travel into one of the windows.

"So did that one, though it seems the centaur had a message for him as well."

"How do you know what a centaur is?" Shouted Motaro, very few humans on Earth knew what a centaur was, especially one from Outworld.

"I was taught many things in my years of training, unlike the human that lay at your feet I am not from Earth, nor am I human." The sound of fluttering cloth caught their attention and they looked in the direction of the sound but saw only darkness.

"And what are you then?" Sheeva was becoming curious of her mysterious target. Another fluttering of cloth and a heavy thud was the entrance of the cloaked man, the hood covered his face except for two glowing violet eyes that peered from beneath the darkness under the hood. On his shoulder sat a raven, one that was a little larger than most whose eyes glowed purple like the man it sat on and the tips of its feathers were colored red in contrast with the black color of the rest of its body. Motaro and Sheeva returned to each other's side, staring into the glowing eyes of the stranger, as if trying to read his mind.

"Might I ask who this Kano is? I have killed many people and I don't often keep track of the names." The Shokan half expected the voice to come from the raven, but it came from under the hood, and the hood even moved as the jaw moved with the words.

"Kano was the cyborg with the red eye, you decapitated him and left his head as a present for miss Sonya Blade." The man was silent for a few seconds before nodding his head,

"I remember that rat, he died how he lived, without honor... Have you come to avenge his death?" The raven adjusted itself on his shoulder, it's eyes peering into that of Motaro's.

"We have come because we were sent by our master, Lord Shao Khan, who wishes to thank you for getting rid of Kano, as he now doesn't have to." The four armed woman bowed in front of the cloaked man, and the centaur followed suit. After a second they rose and Motaro spoke,

"Our master Shao Khan has asked us to extend an invitation for you to join him in his court, alongside ourselves and many other powerful warriors from many realms." The man walked down from the stair step formation he stood on and down to the same level as the two strangers who sat in the middle of his domain. The raven still sat perched on his shoulders, it's glowing eyes fixating now on Sheeva as it tilted it's head. The stranger paced slowly for a few feet before stopping and staring up at a great dragon statue with raven wings and a serpent body with four powerful limps wrapping around an ancient rusted sword.

Liu Kang saw the trail of footsteps heading in a northern direction, and a roped up bag was laying next to a tree. The sound of clanging metal and thunder was now muffled and was at such a distance that he could barely hear it and as he approached the bag he knew what was in it. Reaching toward the rope he conjured a lick of flame which appeared across the fibers which darkened and burned until it split apart, and as the rope unwrapped itself Liu ripped open the fabric and dragged Kung Lao out of it, still unconscious. As he pulled him out a great crack of thunder blasted overhead which worried the shaolin monk, but he ignored it for now and focused on reviving his friend.

"Kung Lao, wake up." He shook the body of his monk brother and finally, as a last resort, slapped him across the face and with a start he woke from his comatose state. But instead of a gasp he let out a cry of pain and reached for his leg, which Liu Kang now noted was covered in dried blood and a large half scabbed gash reached from the back of his knee to his heel. "Kung Lao we must leave with haste, the Lin Kuei who took you are facing down Lord Raiden." The shaolin warriors looked off in the distance as a jet of lightning came from the grey cloudy sky.

"We can't leave Raiden, those two together are to strong even for him, and the yellow one has a strange amulet with him, it has some force about it that can cancel our natural abilities." Another flash of lightning, this one noticeably smaller than before. "He's using it now, Lord Raiden has no chance against both of them at once without his godly powers!" He let out another cry as he gripped the wound on his legs.

"Lord Raiden can handle himself, we have to get you out of here." Lifting his friend up and resting the arms of his wounded partner on his shoulders he began his trek deeper into the forest. No more thunder was heard, and both feared the worst, Liu Kang assisted Kung Lao along while the razor brimmed had was strapped to his leg. As the forest seemed to bend away from them they entered a clearing where Kung Lao was laid under a tall evergreen.

"I am going to find Raiden and bring him back, if anyone comes this way try to hide." As he said this he unraveled one of the leather bands from his legs and tied it tight around Kung Lao's wound, "I will come back for you, I promise." and standing up the red adorned shaolin monk rushed back into the woods in the direction they came from. The trunks of trees flew past as his feet stamped into the dirt and hurled him through the air, and as he ran he would make glances at the earth below following his own footprints back to where Raiden and himself had met the Lin Kuei assassins Cyrax and Sektor. But when he reached the area of the fight all that was there was a tree with an indentation and a splatter of blood, Raiden and the two ninjas had disappeared leaving little trace of them having faced off in the small area. Footprints led off to the west, the same direction that the two men had come from, and Raiden's god amulet was there in the tracks, he had apparently dropped it as he was dragged away by the two men. Picking it up Liu hurried back in the direction of Kung Lao, and within an twenty minutes the two found themselves back in California, in the house of Sonya and Johnny.

"What the hell?" Shouted Sonya, not yet realizing who had just appeared in her living room.

"Hold on Sonya! It's just me." Liu raised his hands above his head as she raised up a small taser. After the smoke of the teleportation cleared she lowered the stun gun, and her glare gave way to a smile and a sigh of relief.

"Liu, thank god, what are you doing here?" Her eyes glanced over to the small decorative box that she had moved to the floor next to the table.

"Raiden was taken by a pair of Lin Kuei assassins, they were the ones who had attacked us at the wedding along with Kano." She visibly shuddered at the name, and Liu could see sweat start to bead up on her forehead. "Sonya, what's wrong?" She lowered her eyes to the ground at the question while Liu Kang set Kung Lao on the soft couch.

"Kano is dead, he apparently came in and tried to finish off Johnny."

"And Johnny killed him while his leg is broken?" Curiosity burned in his eyes as he raised his eyebrow at the idea of the crippled Johnny beating a healthy steroid headed cyborg, it wasn't impossible but highly unlikely.

"No, I came home and there was no indication of a fight except a few things that were haphazardly tossed about, but a box was on the table." She stopped mid sentence and walked behind the table, picking up the Christmas present box, now with a wet red stain on the bottom of the box. Liu Kang took the box cautiously in hand and opened it up, shock filling his face.

"Then who?" He didn't feel it was necessary to continue the question.

"No idea, but whoever it was obviously knew that he was here, as well as that he was targeting Johnny, so who do we know who knows Johnny and Kano well enough to know they would be here." Both stood puzzled, Liu Kang still staring into the empty eye socket of the metal plated face. Kung Lao shook his head as he pulled himself up, pushing up off the couch and holding himself into a sitting position.

"Could it have been Jax? Or Stryker?" Liu still could not imagine who had done this, especially because he had faced Kano before as well and knew that he wasn't just any fighter, he was a strong fighter.

"Jax is with Kabal, he wouldn't have left him. Stryker is looking for whoever attacked Kabal, apparently he found fingerprints on the arrows that hit him and is somewhere in Europe, I haven't heard from him since he told me that." Liu shook his head,

"That could be bad, he may be in danger, Kano works for, well worked for Shao Khan, and if Kano knew where Stryker was so may he."

Raiden pushed away from Cyrax as soon as Sektor was far enough ahead. He swung his fist straight into the center of his chest, and the sound of breaking glass sent pain shooting through the upper torso of the yellow garbed assassin. He knew what it was, the amulet that had allowed him to weaken the thunder god, and now it was broken. Thunder exploded overhead and a bolt of lightning struck the ground in between them throwing him through the air. The sound of footsteps grew closer, it was Sektor, and Raiden knew where the closest man who could help him was.

"Nightwolf..." And at the name a second lightning strike hit him directly in his straw hat and he disappeared as Sektor appeared in his view. The red assassin approached his injured friend, seven or so shards of glass stuck out from his chest and a dark burn streaked across his face, Sektor shook his head and lifted his unconscious partner with a heave and began to continue westward toward the Lin Kuei temple, deep in the ancient forest.

"Do not worry Cyrax, you have served the Lin Kuei well, your new form shall be even more powerful than you ever have been." A smile stretched across his face as he reminisced in the thoughts of the Cyber Initiative.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 4

A man dressed in an ancient tattered white robe sat in a grand stone throne that looked thousands of years old, as if it was made in the early years of the world. The man himself looked as if he was just as old as the throne itself, his long grey hair was shaved into a long braided tail, long white strands sprouted from above the lips which matched the long wispy beard that hung from his chin. An emblem of a small circle with an intricate rounded shape within like three axe blades with their butt ends aligned together was stitched onto the chest above the heart. His wrinkled hand reached up and made a symbol with two fingers, calling for silence in the large room where thirty or so warriors in outfits with long shoulder padding that covered some of the chest which covered a cotton tunic.

"Lin Kuei warriors, we have been given a new task by the sorcerer Shang Tsung, he has given us the task of slaying the Earthrealm fighter known as Liu Kang." a soft murmur came from the crowd as a few discussed the known shaolin monk, the ancient man raised his two fingered sign again and the men silenced quickly, their discipline kicking in. "I would like someone to volunteer for this task so I do not have to choose." The man chuckled several times at his own joke as did many of the warriors around the throne. Four men of the thirty stepped forward, all clad in the same uniform and face masks but of varying colors.

"I volunteer Grand Master." All four men said at the same time, unaware of the others and only focusing on the old man that sat on the stone with the dragon medallion strung around his neck. One man dressed in a grey uniform turned to the others and struck out at the nearest one, a man in dark green, who blocked the blow quickly and returned the motion, giving him a quick shot at the rib cage. The two main doors at the other end of the halls burst open and a flash of cold wind blew through the cavern. In the doorway was a Lin Kuei warrior, his outfit a deep blue and from his face mask a thin mist of white cold breath flowed out.

"Ah, Bi Han, so happy for you to join us." The old man waved for the blue dressed warrior walked through the crowd and up to the man in the throne.

"Apologies Grand Master, someone neglected to alert me of the meeting and had instead barricaded me in my room." His eyes glanced at the man in grey as sweat began to bead across his forehead. As if to mock his antagonizing ally the cold Bi Han stood next to him, the frosty breath from his face mask seemed to crawl through the air toward him.

"I see, well I assume you wish to volunteer for the mission regardless of what it is." He nodded in affirmation, causing the grey man's eyes to open wide with fear and anger.

"No!" he shouted directing his anger toward the man to his left who wasn't supposed to be here. "This is my mission, I will not allow you to take it from me!" He swung his fist with speed and precision toward Bi Han's throat, only to have it blocked without his opponent even looking in his direction. He staggered back before lunging in the man's direction, and as he dashed forward he saw his enemy turn toward him and swing his hands out, two fingers outstretched toward him. In a flash of cold air and dim blue light the fingers made contact and a three inch layer of ice spread over the man's body holding him in place. After the layer of ice was fully covering the grey suited warrior Bi Han took a step back and gave the ice a quick chop causing it to burst into thousands of pieces, each on containing a small piece of the Lin Kuei assassin that had tried to take his mission.

"Well Sub Zero, I can see you have not skipped a beat on your training." The other three warriors stepped back from the area in front of the throne as Bi Han bowed in front of the Grand Master. "Very well, I choose Bi Han, assassin of the Lin Kuei, to take on the mission of slaying the shaolin warrior Liu Kang." All of the men raised their hands in the two fingers raised symbol that signified their respect to both the man chosen and the man that sat silently on the throne. Sub Zero stood straight once again and held out his wrist, the ancient man stood and placed his hand both on the dragon medallion and his other on the wrist of the blue warrior. A ray of light surrounded Bi Han and in a flash the man disappeared and left only a small thin sheet of ice where he once stood.

Liu Kang sat in the bushes, the heavy built dark skinned man crouched next to him as they waited for their prey to pass down this route.

"Are you sure they are coming this way?" Liu asked questioningly, unsure how Jax knew that two Outworld warriors were coming down this route.

"Yes, there is a castle nearby called Red Raven Manor, that was the last place that Stryker's locator was active, and the only person that is looking to pick a fight with him is an Outworld warrior named Motaro." Liu Kang raised his eyebrow and looked at Jax.

"Motaro? How does Stryker and Motaro have a rivalry, he's a centaur and they are only located in Outworld?"

"Couple of years back, one of the first portals in hundreds of years to Earth opened from Outworld, and about ten of these big horse man hybrid stepped out, an eleventh came out with a giant robotic tail, that was Motaro. Stryker and his partner at the time, a man named Jacob Long, had met them and spoke with them for a few moments and they acted peaceful. Then as Kurtis and Jacob turned to call for back up to escort them out of the area Motaro completely ripped Long apart. Kurtis managed to shoot down a few of the centaurs and hold them off before police returned and he has been hunting for Motaro ever since, I guess it was the other way around as well..." Liu Kang silenced Jax mid sentence as the sound of clopping hooves came to his ears. The muttering of distant voices could be heard by both of them as they sat in the silent forest.

Liu whispered, "They are coming, stay here, I'm going to that tree over there and when I attack come out and flank them." The red adorned oriental man snuck away into the tree line just as three strange figures appeared in the foggy haze.

"... are you from anyway?" The deep growling voice of Motaro finally reached Jax clearly, and it seemed that the question was directed toward a cloaked man that strode in between the horseman and the four armed woman. The squawk of a raven rang out over head and the strange feathery creature flew down from a nearby tree onto the left shoulder of the strange man in a dirty black cloak. The man stopped in the road, the others taking another few steps before realizing the stranger had stopped. The man seemed to be listening to the bird that had leaned its beak behind the area of his ear.

The stranger turned and moved out of the way as Liu Kang leapt from the tree with a flutter and fall of leaves, instead of hitting him his foot made contact with the abdomen of Sheeva who was taken aback at this sudden pain that filled her torso. Taking that as the signal Jax charged forward and tackled the giant horseman, his overly muscular arms stretching around the centaurs waist and forcing him to the ground. Sheeva slapped Liu Kang with two of his hands launching him through the air as Motaro gave Jax several blows to the face. No one noticed as the third man dressed in the black cloak gently walked into the forest as they were all distracted. The centaur stood back up and gripped the ankles of the black man, tossing him off about five or six feet further down the trail, while the four armed giant woman took two more blows to the face before Liu sent a ball of flame into her eyes, causing her to stagger backwards and fall to the ground. And leaping into the air he jutted his foot out, the sole of his boot going straight through the skull, killing Sheeva instantly.

"Liu, I could use some help here!" Jax shouted, but as the oriental man turned toward his ally three kunai daggers flew through the air into his left sleeve and pinned him to the tree directly beside him. The cloaked man leapt from a tree directly above Jax, and the black robe blew off of him, revealing to the four fighters the man who had already slaughtered two of their allies and enemies. The man was lean and muscular but not overboard like Jax but more like a balance of a sleek and powerful body, across his chest were several straps of fabric that created an x, matching bands on his elbows that had short ribbons that fluttered in the wind. His pants were black cargo jeans that laid over a pair of steel boots. The pale grey skin faded into the black leather gloves with tattered finger holes, and across his left cheek were three claw marks, one of which slid over his lip. In his left hand a hand axe made of a dark clean metal which sent shivers down Liu's spine as he saw it glimmer in the light, the sharp end seemed to glow orange like it was just heated in a furnace. The grey skinned warrior dropped behind Jax and span the axe in a lightning fast and intricate move set before bringing it down cutting off the man's right arm that was swinging in a violent bone breaking blow toward Motaro.

Jax let out an agonizing scream of pain, the wound had cauterized as the blade cleanly cut through the flesh and bone, so no spurts of blood sprayed around the dirt trail or onto the centaur. The metallic tail of Motaro whizzed through the air, letting out a wisp noise as the sharp steel tip ripped through the other arm of the officer, causing him to emit another throat tearing scream. Liu now moved with anger and ripped the sleeve from his tunic as he shot forward, striking Motaro in the lower jaw, knocking him back. But as he sent an upper kick toward the stranger he saw that no one was there, instead the grey skinned fighter leapt out from behind him, delivering three open palm strikes to the left rib cage that was wide open before leaping into the air and doing a downward spin kick, knocking Liu Kang's head straight down to the muddy trail.

"Finish them now!" Shouted Motaro as he pushed himself back onto his hoofs.

"No, they are alone and will die here on their own, they can't be of any harm now." The strangers voice was calm with a slight hint of wrath behind the disguise. As he wrapped the cloak back around his body he turned back to the corpse of the four armed woman and looked at Motaro, "What will you say to your masters?" Motaro gazed over at the body of Sheeva and shook his head with little emotion.

"Do not worry, she was weak, I will tell them that Liu Kang killed him and they will understand, especially after your display of skill after taking down that stupid shaolin warrior. What is your name by the way? I do not believe you have told me and Shang Tsung did not know either." The stranger didn't respond, only pinned small silver raven broach to the two flaps of his cloak, and the centaur took this as a general sign, many entities from outer realms preferred not to be known by those outside their realm, and even rarer outside their clan. "Well, if it is not a name, than what realm are you from?" The man looked up toward the horseman as he slid the hood over his head.

"You are from Outworld, are you not?" The man's voice this time was not calm and emotionless, but imitated slight aggression but also a tinge of curiosity as if he wanted to know what made this being so curious about him.

"Yes, I am. Are you from there as well?"

"No, I'm not." He paused for a time before looking down at the earthen trail. "Many years ago, when the realm of Edenia was taken over by Outworld the dark energy of Shao Khan's forceful rip through realms corrupted a lot of people, a lot of creatures." The raven alighted on his shoulder once again, the shiny black feathers glimmered all through till they hit the maroon red tips. "We happened to be on the border between Edenia and Outworld. so you might say we don't belong anywhere in particular. We're outcasts, from the between-realms, and we're immortal because of it, been around for nearly eight hundred years. So we came here to Earthrealm, and we built the castle with the gem and silver we brought from Edenia, and it was our home. But I guess we're going back now." He scratched the birds head affectionately, eight thousand years of being the only constant thing in each other's lives gave them a bond stronger than most partners.

"Is he your pet?" Motaro recalled how many Edenian nobles kept majestic exotic birds as pets.

"No, he is my partner and my friend, I am not his master and he does not stay because I force him, he stays because he chooses to." The tone had changed and it's aggression grew, he seemed insulted by the thought of the bird being his pet.

Liu pulled himself from the mud, the bright sunlight had disappeared and was now the light pink of dusk. He quickly accessed the scene, unsure how far away Motaro and the stranger had gone, but he knew he had to get Jax to safety and to get him checked out. Reaching into his small pouch that hung from his waist he pulled out a golden medallion lined with a blue sapphire ring, and embossed with a bolt of lightning.

"Raiden, I need you to help, Jax has been badly injured and we need you to get us out, we found some information about Shao Khan's plan." Clouds began to spiral together and grow grey above him, and the sound of thunder crackled through the sky. Bolts of lightning struck the ground miles away and the sound of thunder rolled across the now grey clouds. Another one struck the ground twenty feet away, creating a dome of blue light which, when it disappeared, revealed Raiden wearing his reed thatched hat and white robe, adorned with a blue sash.

"What happened Liu Kang?" Raiden's calm deep voice reached his ears as the god took quick strides over to the two humans.

"We tracked Motaro and Sheeva here after they killed Stryker, but another person was with them, he looked human but not entirely human. I was distracted with Sheeva and Motaro was fighting Jax only to have the man cut off one of his arms, than Motaro took the other."  
>"And how long ago was this Liu Kang?" Raiden began to grow worried for Jax's safety, he could feel the life slowly fading from the now armless man.<p>

"I was knocked unconscious by the new warrior..." Liu stared down at the ground in disgrace.

"Liu, do not be embarrassed, you did not know there would be three of them. Do not blame yourself, we need to get Jax to the hospital, then you can pray for Jax to come around." The shaolin monk was silent, but nodded his head and held out his arm, which the thunder god took in his and placed his other hand on Jax. And in a flash of light the three appeared in the Deacon City hospital, scaring several nurses and doctors that happened to be standing in the lobby where they were transported to. But after a second or so they noticed the armless man they recognized as Officer Jackson Briggs and quickly ran to the strange group, calling for a stretcher.

Liu Kang and Raiden stood back as the doctors rushed away with the unconscious form of Jax, and they began to walk away, strolling outside the sliding doors while they worried for their friend.

"You must not blame your... self..." Raiden stopped midsentence, staring off over Liu's shoulder. "Liu, go check on Jax, quickly!" Unsure what his old friend was talking about, Liu Kang hurried back inside, heading straight for the door with the stair sign.

Sub Zero climbed up the side of the hospital wall with as much speed as he could, his hands covered in a thin layer of frost that spread across the wall and created a series of thick icicles, which he used as foot holds and he literally ran up the wall in a zigzag formation. The window he had his eye on was open, light trickled out from the orifice onto the cold cement that surrounded the white hospital. He had just seen Liu Kang and a man in a white robe exit this building, and that meant someone they knew was injured, and inside, which could be a great disadvantage to them if he got their hands on whoever it is in there. Pulling himself up into the window he stood on the cold tile floor and he nearly flinched at the bright hospital lights reflecting off the sickening pale green and white walls.

"Now where are you Liu Kang..." He spoke as he walked through the halls. Hurried footsteps drew his attention, the blue garbed assassin double backed and stepped back into a separate room as he saw the red garbed shaolin monk run by followed by the white robed god Raiden.

"Hurry Liu Kang, we need to make sure Jax is ok."

"So they have an injured friend, that could prove to be beneficial, for me." Sub Zero whispered to himself as he stepped out of the empty white room. In a burst of orange light a heavy black booted foot smashed into his mask, almost shattering it into his skin.

"Hello there... Bi-Han." Came a raspy dreadful voice from behind him. Sub Zero turned and saw a man whose eyes were pale white, his garb was made up of a black under tunic with a yellow robe that was double layered over it, burn spots were spread out across the outfit, and similar to his the man wore a dark yellow mask that covered his face along with a black cowl.

"Hanzo? You, you died!" Bi-Han rubbed the bruise on his face and stood back up, the shock setting in.

"After you killed me and my tribe? I should guess you would assume as much." The voice was hate filled, but the words that came out of his sent Sub Zero into a spiral of confusion.

"I never ordered your tribes destruction, you know I would never do that, even with our rivalry."

"You lie!" In a swift movement Scorpion launched a kunai with a thin strong robe, it whistled through the air and struck the blue assassin in the shoulder. "Get over here!" Using all his strength Hanzo yanked Bi-Han off his feet onto the tile floor, in the split second after he pulled the blade from the enemy and moved his arm like throwing a baseball and a ball of red hellfire sputtered through the air. Sub Zero pushed off the white tiles and leapt back and saw the flames explode where he would have been. He moved his hands together and opened them up in an X shape shooting a solid ball of ice back at his yellow assailant.

"I didn't kill your tribe!" Bi-Han shouted as the wraith moved away and seemed to burst through the wall in a splash of fire, causing him to disappear. The blue ninja looked around, and ran off after a second of not seeing his attacker he hurried in the direction that Liu Kang ran off to. He entered the room he had seen Liu Kang disappear into moments before Hanzo's attack, but all that was there was a blood soaked sheet, his target had escaped. The sound of a blade shattering bone came to his ears and he looked down to see the kunai of Scorpion sticking from his chest, one of his ribs sticking out from the wound.

"There is no escape from Scorpion." The blade ripped out of his chest, and fire erupted from the hole in his ribcage. And the hole spread until it drew a jagged burnt line from his left collar bone to his right hip and he fell to the earth.

"Sonya, do you know who killed Kano?" The woman stood confused at the question.

"Why do you ask Kung Lao?" The half wounded man still half sat up on the coach as he gripped his side in a grunt of pain.

"Well, it would have to be someone who knew about the past between you and him, would have to know that Johnny was injured, would have to be a phenomenal combatant, and would have to know where you lived." They both continued their own individual thoughts. "Could it have been someone paid to do so?" Kung Lao's idea first was shot down by the woman wearing a white tank top, but then she looked back up.

"You may be on to something, but in order to figure out who killed him, we'd have to figure out who Kano was working for, and who was a rival to that person. Perhaps Raiden knows who Kano was working for."


End file.
